US embassy racks up £11 million traffic debt in London

The U.S. embassy in London owes more than £11 million in traffic charges, according to British government figures.

Staff at the embassy in Grosvenor Square, in the swanky Mayfair district, have racked up an £11,544,455 debt for unpaid congestion charge payments.

There were 96,274 separate fines between the charge being introduced in February 2003 and December 31, 2016, according to Transport for London figures. The numbers were made available Wednesday as part of the latest written statements given by ministers and government departments.

Drivers have to pay a daily fee to drive into central London during weekdays.

Also in the top 10 list of non-payers are Japan (£7,629,370 owed), Russia (£5,603,320), Germany (£4,221,590) and Poland (£3,854,130).

The total amount owed in congestion charge payments by foreign governments is £105,419,835, according to the figures.

The fines have been allowed to mount up because of an argument over whether the charge is for a service or merely a tax for going in and out of central London. Diplomats tend to argue the latter, saying it is covered by diplomatic immunity. The U.S. decided on its stance on the subject in 2005.

Transport for London says diplomats are not exempt from the congestion charge and a “stubborn minority” refuse to pay, according to the BBC.

In February, Transport for London wrote to Boris Johnson, now foreign secretary and a former mayor of London, urging him to take foreign governments to international courts to make them pay the congestion charge. Such a move would need government support.

The congestion charge was introduced by former London mayor Ken Livingstone in February 2003, with the aim of reducing traffic congestion in central London between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. The current charge is £11.50 a day.

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kermelen

Amazing: £105 million due by foreign diplomats only to access their own embassy by car in London. I’ll be curious to see this tax paid by the US or Russia: that will never happen. Or even more savourously by Germany or Poland. But there is a drawback with every abusive tax: foreign diplomats might choose to switch somewhere else, and a no-deal Brexit could give them a nice opportunity to do just that. Diplomacy is based on reciprocity. As long as London is the only capital to exhort a toll fee to access international embassies, this claim is at best ridiculous.

Posted on 10/11/17 | 7:34 PM CET

Lenni

@kermelen
Not a clue what you are trying to say 🙂

The diplomats visiting Britain should go somewhere else… huh? like France? shout across the channel maybe?

I know on maps it’s only a few mm but we can’t actually chat with our French friends. It is deceptively far.

Posted on 10/11/17 | 9:45 PM CET

edel

@kermelen, you just said it, reciprocity, but don’t confuse it with expenses. For instance no one is saying that a Georgian embassy has to have the same expenses by having its flashy embassy in center London as UK does in Tbilisi. Rent, electricity, security, congestion charges and even pizza will be simply much more expensive in London and they have to account for that. Georgia and the US always can get its embassy outside London’s center if it want to cut costs.

The thing is that is time to update the whole concept of diplomatic immunity. In 2017 countries don’t have the same necessities as they did in 1817. For citizens is easier to deal with origin countries online, no need for consulates in most cases. It is being too heavy burden in citizens across the world this centuries old diplomatic concept.

So 7400/yr traffic fines for only the US Embassy in London? just imagine how many hundreds of thousands Londoners had been affected… no to mention the anger it unnecessarily creates of this unfairness. I would be more impress of the country that uses consulates and embassies in a lean and effective way and uses public transport rather of those that rent expensive real-state and have a whole fleet of luxury cars illegally parked on adjacent roads. But meanwhile we wait for those changes to happen, they have to contribute to the same expenses than any other citizen of the city would, no more no less.

Posted on 10/12/17 | 12:55 AM CET

Loris

@edel

The congestion charge is an attempt to reduce congestion and keep London moving by deterring unnecessary car use (and raise revenue of course. Certain areas of London incur a daily charge for most vehicles.

This is an old issue, the US simply refuses to pay it, the majority of the outstanding fines are for congestion charges. As you say “they have to contribute to the same expenses than any other citizen of the city would, no more no less.”

Posted on 10/12/17 | 2:55 AM CET

Dan

@kermelen @edel
Yeah I’m sure the software of the ANPR (AUTOMATED Number-plate Recognition System) system that is the heart of the congestion charge ‘savourously’ targets German or Polish drivers. Of course it does… along with everyone else who doesn’t pay the charge.

It simply compares the registration plate of vehicles it detects in the zone to its database of vehicles that have paid to drive in the zone that day, and issues a fine to the registered keeper of the vehicle in the event of infringement. The same system is used to detect if vehicles have road tax, MOT or insurance. It’s the EU’s ‘magic thinking’ system in practice.